This is only my second batch of beer. On the first try, which turned out great, I used an open primary like I do for my wine. This time I used a closed primary with an airlock. Very few bubbles out of the airlock and after 3 days I was worried that I needed more oxygen in the beer. I stirred it. Still no bubbles in the air lock. Checked the SG and it had gone from 1.040 to 1.000 and oops everything is mixed up. Apparently the lid was not tight and that is why no bubbles in the airlock and it fermented out. I racked to a carboy but everything is already mixed up. Is this going to clear OK? I used a whirlfloc tablet in the boil. Should I try other clearing methods at this point?

Given enough time, everything should clear up just fine. If you're really worried about it, you could always use some finings to clear it quicker.
I think the bigger issue here would be the possibility of off flavors from oxidation, depending on how vigorously you stirred it.

Hope everything works out for you Wyo!

Cheers,
Dave

Thanks, I looked at it this morning and there was about an inch of sediment on the bottom of the carboy so I think it is clearing. This batch just looked very dark brown instead of the light amber color because I stirred it up. Sometimes I forget it isn't like making wine. I still think I'll use an open primary next time. I have a dedicated room that is clean, heated and air conditioned. Last time I just racked it too soon at 1.020 and it overflowed the airlock so I thought I would try the airlock on the primary this time. Have you used an open primary for beer before? I've made wine for years but beer is new to me.

Do a google search for 'Open Fermentation' and you'll find LOTS of information on it. It's apparently used in quite a few large breweries. Here's a link to an article that seems geared more towards the homebrew crowd, but doing the google search will yield a ton of information if you want to sift through it.

http://www.brewery.org/library/OpenFerm.html

Cheers,
Dave

I have inadvertently done an open fermentation like you did a few times. Usually, I still let it finish out fermentation in the bucket. In fact, even though they're usually done in 4 or 5 days, I usually leave them there for two weeks before transferring to "secondary". In the secondary I always crash cool at about 35 or 40 degrees to help clear, but that's entirely my personal process. I use gelatin finings sometimes just to hurry things up, but still find myself waiting just as long for it to mature as it would have taken to clear in the first place ! Maybe I'll learn patience one day....

Sorry, I didn't directly answer your question. If it smells fine, it's probably OK. Just leave it alone and it should clear just fine. If it tastes funny, let it sit for six months and call it a Lambic!

Thanks for all the info. It is now in the carboy with an airlock and I have about an inch of sediment on the bottom so apparently it is starting to clear. I have some gelatin finings coming so if it doesn't clear I will try that.

curlyfat wrote: If it tastes funny, let it sit for six months and call it a Lambic!

I think I tried one of those last night, my friends younger brother had a bottle of the stuff. My goodness what wierd tasting stuff, really really sour. When then brother brought it into the room my friend said, "Don't open those in here, I'll never get rid of the smell."

There is really no benafit from an open fermentation. If you do not have alot of headspace you can use a blow off tube. Its just a hose ran into a jar of sanitiser. That lets any of the krausen out so it does not clog things.
The beer will clear in a few days. I use whirfloc the last 15 minutes of the boil. Ferment 2 weeks in primary. Then i keg or bottle.
Stirring it is not a good idea after fermentation starts. It should be fine though.